lesson 16

央行再度加息

China's central bank announced in a statement Saturday that it will hike the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points beginning Sunday, which raises the one-year lending rate to 5.81 percent and one-year deposit rate to 2.75 percent.

China raises interest rate again

China's central bank announced in a statement Saturday that it will hike the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points beginning Sunday, which raises the one-year lending rate to 5.81 percent and one-year deposit rate to 2.75 percent, Xinhua reported. This was the second time this year that the People's Bank of China (PBOC) hiked the interest rate after it increased the benchmark lending and deposit rates by 25 basis points on Oct. 20.

On Friday, the PBOC's Vice Governor Hu Xiaolian said that China would bring its overall money supply to a normal level using various policy tools, as the government shifts its monetary policy from "moderately loose" to "prudent" to rein in rising inflationary pressures and curb asset bubbles. China's consumer price index (CPI) accelerated to a 28-month high in November of 5.1 percent. A recent PBOC survey also showed that the proportion of Chinese citizens satisfied with the current price level had sunk to an 11-year low, and only 17.3 percent of consumers said they intend to consume more in the future.